The Shadow Line
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Christopher Eccleston
Genre
Drama
Created by
Hugo Blick
Written by
Hugo Blick
Directed by
Hugo Blick
Starring
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Christopher Eccleston
Rafe Spall
Antony Sher
Stephen Rea
Theme music composer
Emily Barker
Opening theme
Pause
Ending theme
Pause
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Language(s)
English
No. of series
1
No. of episodes
7
Production
Executive producer(s)
Polly Hill (for BBC)
George Faber
Charles Pattinson
Henry Normal
Lindsay Hughes
Marc Samuelson
Steve Christian
Producer(s)
Johann Knobel
Hugo Blick
Location(s)
Isle of Man
London
Running time
60 minutes
Production company(s)
Company Pictures
Eight Rooks Ltd
Baby Cow Productions
CinemaNX
Isle of Man Film
Broadcast
Original channel
BBC Two
BBC HD
Original run
5 May 2011 (2011-05-05) – 16th June 2011
Status
Aired
External links
Website
The Shadow Line is a seven-part British television drama serial produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/CinemaNX production for BBC Two.[1] It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Eccleston, Rafe Spall, Antony Sher and Stephen Rea.
The first episode was screened on 12 April 2010 at BAFTA's Princess Anne Theatre in Piccadilly, and was followed by a special question and answer session with Hugo Blick and Christopher Eccleston.[2]
Broadcasting of the series started on the 5th May 2011 and finished on the 16th June 2011. It is currently available on Blu-ray and DVD.
Contents
1 Synopsis
2 Production
3 Music
4 Cast
5 Plot
6 Reception
6.1 Ratings
7 Factual Basis
8 References
9 External links
Synopsis
The Shadow Line is about a murder investigated by both sides of the line – cops and criminals – and the opposing methods they use to solve it. But the real line is the morality within each character and how far they will go before they cross it.[1]
Production
The series is produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/CinemaNX/Isle of Man Film for BBC Two. It was mainly shot in the Isle of Man, with some sequences filmed in London.[3]
Music
The theme music is the song "Pause" written by Emily Barker and performed by Emily Barker and The Red Clay Halo. It was adapted to fit the title sequence by Martin Phipps.[4]
Cast
Chiwetel Ejiofor as DI Jonah Gabriel - Amnesiac detective with a bullet in his head who leads the investigation into Harvey Wratten's death.
Christopher Eccleston as Joseph Bede - Organised consultant for Harvey Wratten's empire. He has set up a florists as a front for the drug dealing organisation, but finds himself the unwilling new boss of the cartel.
Antony Sher as Peter Glickman - Former partner of Wratten, now on the run from Gatehouse. His ties with Gabriel's past force him to return to the playing field.
Stephen Rea as Gatehouse - Elusive and primary antagonist who uses politeness and charm to lure his victims into a false sense of safety before pouncing.
Rafe Spall as Jay Wratten - Psychotic nephew of Harvey Wratten, eager to find his killer.
Kierston Wareing as Lia Honey - Gabriel's feisty detective partner.
Richard Lintern as Patterson - Gabriel's chain-smoking superior, requested Gabriel take charge of the Wratten case personally.
Eve Best as Petra - Peter Glickman's former mistress, later revealed to be an assassin of "Counterpoint"
Lesley Sharp as Julie Bede - Joseph's wife, who is suffering from early onset Alzheimer's.
Tobias Menzies as Ross McGovern - Journalist who is getting too close to the truth.
Robert Pugh as Bob Harris - Harvey Wratten's rival, now business partner to Joseph Bede.
Malcolm Storry as Maurice Crace - Joseph Bede's right-hand-man and veteran associate of the Wratten empire.
Clare Calbraith as Laura Gabriel - Jonah Gabriel's pregnant wife.
Sean Gilder as Beatty - Customs officer who has information surrounding Jay and Harvey Wratten's Royal Pardon.
David Schofield as Sergeant Foley - Gum-chewing corrupt police officer whose loyalties aren't clear.
Stanley Townsend as Bulkat Babur - Turkish Heroin supplier who sets up Joseph's last deal.
Ace Bhatti as Commander Khokar - Patterson and Gabriel's commanding officer.
Sasha Behar as Laing - Senior customs officer
Freddie Fox as Ratallack - Ambitious young associate of Bob Harris; is also Harris' lover.
Nicholas Jones as Commander Penney - Retired Police officer with all the information.
Sharon D. Clarke as Mrs Dixon - The tortured mother of Andy Dixon who lies to the police to protect her son.
Tobi Bakare as Andy Dixon - Harvey Wratten's driver on the night of his murder; has gone on the run after witnessing the crime.
Plot
A man discovered shot to death in the back of a car is found to be Harvey Wratten, head of one of London's largest organized crime families, who had been released from jail hours earlier having received a royal pardon for undisclosed reasons. Investigating the murder is DI Jonah Gabriel, a detective in Scotland Yard's serious crimes division. Returning to work, he has no recollection of his last job which went terribly wrong as a result of a bullet lodged in his brain which killed his partner.
The death of Wratten results in one of his men, Joseph Bede being put forward reluctantly as the new boss of the drug smuggling operation. Bede sets out to find Wratten's killer whilst also trying to contact the cartel's money man, the mysterious Glickman, and has to contend with Harvey's psychotic nephew Jay.
We follow the investigations into the murder from both sides of the Shadow Line.
Reception
The first episode received mixed reception. The overall plot of this episode was praised by The Telegraph while the acting was felt to be too restrained.[5] Reviews for the final episode were much more positive. The underlying themes received particular praise.[6] Other reviews noted it to be flamboyant in an almost theatrical sense, but ultimately praised the series.[7] The Telegraph continued to negatively review the series, claiming the final episode was too unbelievable to be viewed with sincerity.[8] Many other critics slammed the show and drew attention to the serious weaknesses in the writing.
Ratings
Episode
Air date
Viewers (thousands/millions)[9] [10]
Rank
One
May 5
3,421
2
Two
May 12
2,473
4
Three
May 19
2,094
8
Four
May 26
2,138
9
Five
June 2
1,93
17
Six
June 9
1,77
15
Seven
June 16
2,08
14
Factual Basis
The method of drug smuggling described in the series reflected that used by the so called "Flowers Gang".[11]
References
^ a b "The Shadow Line, a new drama for BBC Two". http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/02_february/03/shadow.shtml. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
^ "The Shadow Line + Q+A". http://www.bafta.org/public-event.html?Pevent=com.othermedia.bafta.model.BaftaEvent-L-6199104. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/07_july/03/shadow_line.shtml
^ http://www.emily-barker.com/2011/04/shadow-line.html
^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8496171/The-Shadow-Line-BBC-Two-review.html
^ http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/reviews/866569-the-shadow-line-kept-you-guessing-as-it-reached-its-conclusion
^ http://www.cultbox.co.uk/reviews/episodes/1178-the-shadow-line-episode-7-review
^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8577847/The-Shadow-Line-final-episode-review.html
^ "BARB Weekly Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyTopProgrammes?. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
^ "BARB Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyTopProgrammesOverview?_s=4. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
^ "Tesco of drug smuggling' faces 20 years". http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23965501-leader-of-gang-dubbed-tesco-of-drug-smuggling-faces-20-years.do. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
External links
Upcoming: The Shadow Line
The Shadow Line (TV series) at BBC Programmes
The Shadow Line at the Internet Movie Database